Volunteers needed for Point in Time homeless count

Snohomish County is seeking volunteers for its Jan. 27 Point in Time homeless count.

The annual count is an important tool in the community’s efforts to assess the number of homeless individuals and families in Snohomish County as well as to determine ways of ending homelessness. Volunteers are needed for different parts of the county between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Human service providers, county staff and community volunteers will join together in this effort to respectfully count the number of families and individuals who are homeless in our community. The results of the count will help ensure that vital federal and state funding continues to come into the community to fight homelessness. Data from the annual count also is used to help understand how widespread homelessness is in Snohomish County and who is most affected.

“We are dedicated to ending homelessness in Snohomish County, and the Point in Time count allows us to identify the scale of local homelessness, to measure our progress and to put a face to the issue,” said Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon. “This is an excellent opportunity to volunteer and help us conduct a very important count.”

During the 2010 count, 2,362 individuals and 1,335 households were identified as being homeless. This count did not include another 115 incarcerated individuals with no identified residence upon release. Additionally, 854 homeless individuals, or 36 percent of the count, were homeless children under the age of 18.

Volunteers are asked to commit to a three-hour period during the Jan. 27 count. All training and materials will be provided at the sites specified below. To volunteer or for more information, please contact one of the area leads below:

Emphasis on the Point in Time count began in 2006, with the county’s approval of the “Everyone At Home Now” report, a strategy for ending homelessness here by 2016. The plan calls for the expansion of affordable housing and homeless prevention services as well as for the development of programs geared toward specific groups.

For more detailed information about the PIT Count, contact Nate Marti at 425-388-3268 or nate.marti@snoco.org.

Commenting Policy

We welcome comments on all posts at MLTnews. To encourage constructive community dialogue, all commenters must use their real names, first and last. Comments from users with names that don't comply with this policy will be removed. To be fair, this includes comments from longstanding readers who in the past have used just one name. We ask that you re-register on the site to include your full name.